On August 3, 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it is reviewing the eligibility of Turkey to participate in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program based on concerns related to its compliance with the GSP market access criterion. The announcement said:
This criterion, one of fifteen defined by Congress in the statute authorizing the GSP program, covers the extent to which beneficiary countries have assured the United States reasonable and equitable access to their markets.
“The Trump Administration has concerns with Turkey’s compliance with GSP’s market access criterion,” said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish. “We hope that Turkey will work with us to address the concerns that led to this new review of their duty-free access to the United States.”
Turkey has imposed additional tariffs on $1.78 billion of U.S. imports only and not to other trading partners. USTR is launching a self-initiated GSP eligibility review of Turkey based on concerns related to its compliance with the GSP market access criterion.
The United States imported $1.66 billion in 2017 from Turkey under the GSP program, representing 17.7 percent of total U.S. imports from Turkey. The leading GSP import categories were vehicles and vehicle parts, jewelry and precious metals, and stone articles.
A public hearing and comment period for Turkey’s GSP eligibility review will be announced in an upcoming Federal Register notice.
